Color attributes and oxidative stability of longissimus lumborum and psoas major muscles from Nellore bulls

Meat Sci. 2016 Nov:121:19-26. doi: 10.1016/j.meatsci.2016.05.015. Epub 2016 May 21.

Abstract

The influence of muscle source on color stability of fresh beef from purebred Bos indicus cattle was investigated. Longissimus lumborum (LL) and psoas major (PM) muscles obtained from twelve (n=12) Nellore bull carcasses (24h post-mortem) were fabricated into 2.54-cm steaks, aerobically packaged, and stored at 4°C for nine days. Steaks were analyzed on day 0 for proximate composition and myoglobin concentration, whereas pH, instrumental color, metmyoglobin reducing activity (MRA), lipid oxidation, and protein oxidation were evaluated on days 0, 3, 6, and 9. LL steaks exhibited greater (P<0.05) redness, color stability, and MRA than PM counterparts. On the other hand, PM steaks demonstrated greater (P<0.05) myoglobin content, lipid oxidation, and protein oxidation than LL steaks. These results indicated the critical influence of muscle source on discoloration of fresh beef from Bos indicus animals and suggested the necessity to engineer muscle-specific strategies to improve color stability and marketability of beef from Bos indicus cattle.

Keywords: Beef color stability; Bos indicus; Longissimus lumborum; Muscle-specificity; Oxidation; Psoas major.

MeSH terms

  • Animals
  • Cattle
  • Color
  • Food Storage
  • Hydrogen-Ion Concentration
  • Lipid Metabolism
  • Male
  • Metmyoglobin / analysis
  • Muscle Proteins / chemistry
  • Muscle, Skeletal / chemistry*
  • Myoglobin / analysis
  • Oxidative Stress*
  • Red Meat*
  • Refrigeration
  • Thiobarbituric Acid Reactive Substances / analysis

Substances

  • Muscle Proteins
  • Myoglobin
  • Thiobarbituric Acid Reactive Substances
  • Metmyoglobin